19 random career details
Editing and Project Management
1. As the blog managing editor at Psych Central, I oversaw more than 20 bloggers and advised them on SEO and all things blogging-related. I also edited blog posts and swooped in to fix technical problems in WordPress.
2. I was the managing editor of InTheFray for six months and editor-in-chief for four years. On my watch, readership tripled, and we were nominated for awards that pitted us against Newsweek.com, Slate, and Salon. I also made a lot of lists, which (ahem) I’m still doing.
3 . I hired 20 writers and editors to profile 325+ American cities in less than a month for Thomas Riggs & Co. My team completed the project two days ahead of schedule.
Magazines
4. My byline has appeared in dozens of magazines on topics ranging from cancer myths to sports bras to celebrity obsession to Web design.
5. The Writer’s Chronicle published a lecture I gave to the faculty and students at the Bennington Writing Seminars, from which I earned my M.F.A. The lecture covered how to write compelling childhood memoirs.
Scripts
6. I profiled 80+ restaurants, shops, and attractions in San Antonio for a special GPS guide produced by The Travel Channel.
7. I wrote a GRE audio study guide for PrepLogic. Ironically, I am a visual learner.
Books
8. Writing Insiders’ Guide to Houston was so much fun that I wrote a second book, Day Trips from Houston.
9. I wrote the introduction and supplementary materials for Simon & Schuster’s Enriched Classics edition of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis—and finally put seven years of German classes to use.
10. I profiled 46 colleges for 283 Great Colleges—and graduated from 3 of them: the University of Texas (B.A., history), University of Chicago (M.A., social science), and Bennington College (M.F.A., creative nonfiction).
11. My first book editing project? A dating guide for “nice guys.” We all have to start somewhere.
Copywriting
12. I came up with InTheFray’s tagline: “See the World Through Different I’s.”
13. Viscape relied on me to craft fun, attention-grabbing press releases and copy about upcoming events.
14. The Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York calls on me to transform complex public health jargon into consumer-friendly reports and Web copy.
Blogging and Social Media
15. I blog about cancer prevention on MD Anderson Cancer Center’s blog Cancerwise. I have also blogged about book culture at True/Slant, wedding planning at Weddings in Houston and Jewish Wedding Network.
16. At Photo District News, I blogged about and reported on photojournalism and photos in the news. I also spearheaded social networking efforts and put together an e-newsletter that went out to more than 32,000 people.
17. Using my background in digital media, I help small businesses and solopreneurs take the next steps in developing their Web presence. Sometimes that means helping them find a great designer; sometimes it means helping them improve their use of Facebook and Twitter. Increasingly, it also means setting up blogs for them.
Teaching
18. I taught creative writing in Buffalo schools. It was as rewarding as it was challenging.
19. I have taught women’s studies and composition to undergrads, business writing to non-native English speakers, and debate to high school students.
Prefer a good, old-fashioned resume? You can download mine here.